Luna and the Whibbler-Jibbies
by Whisper Gypsy
Summary: Luna's friends have been bent on match-making her with every available wizard. But Luna has her own plan.


A/N:Just a little oneshot, inspired by matchmaking-happy coworkers of mine. Honestly, yourself, guys. And the ginger comment below? Yes, they actually asked me that. Guh, people.

Disclaimer: Luna, her friends, and several of her creatures do not belong to me. I did think up the Whibbler-Jibbies thing, but who can really own them, I ask you?

* * *

The humming noise was louder down the next corridor. Luna titled her head to the side and followed by the gentle light of her wand. The house wasn't haunted at all; infested, surely, with a large nest of hyperactive Nibbler-Badges, but that could be cleared up with enough honey laid out about the house and a pinch or two of thistle weed in every corner. Simple enough really. She grinned at the tiny blue and purple pixie-like creature standing at the end of the stair railing.

"Well, hello, little one. You're a Whibbler-Jibbie, aren't you? Oh, this is exciting. It was wonderful to meet you, but I must be off. I have dinner plans, you know. And a nervous homeowner out front. Goodbye now." Luna waved at the tiny creature who smiled back before opening it's fin-like wings and flapping I's way out the window.

Luna walked out of the house once more and headed over to the anxious home-owner, supply list in hand. "Hello, Mr. Weatherbee. Not to worry. It isn't a ghost at all. But you do have a bad batch of Nibbler-Badges all over the place. Here," she tore the top sheet from her notebook and handed it to the trembling man. "Follow these instructions and the Nibbler-Badges will return to the garden where they belong."

"Oh, thank you so much, Miss Lovegood. It's just been absolutely terrible! I'll get on this straightaway. Oh, um, here." And with a hasty handful of Galleons shoved in her face, Mr. Weatherbee apparated away, presumably to procure his supplies.

Luna giggled a bit, but her laugh faded away in a sigh. "Oh well. I guess it's off to Hermione now. She'll be waiting there already, by now."

And so, Luna Lovegood, supernatural fauna expert, seemed to fade into the mist.

* * *

Hermione smiled from her seat at the table. "Ah, Luna. It's so good to see you again. How's the ghost-hunting business?" She brought her cup to her lips and took a sip of her water.

Luna sighed as she sat in her chair and began flicking through the menu. "It's not ghost-hunting. It's research. And practice of said research." With a flourish of her wand, her order floated away to the kitchens above-stairs. She glanced down at Hermione's purse and pinched her lips. "And it pays the bills. How about you? Are you back in the DOM yet, or are you still on maternity leave?"

"Still on leave. Though I'm itching to get back to work. Merlin only knows what they'll have rucked up since I left. But Ron has been an absolute dear with the little one. I mean, I guess with his family, he's been good at it, but he's just taken to fatherhood like Neville to plants." Hermione coughed a little and glanced away, scanning the room. "Speaking of Neville… Are you two still…?"

Luna sighed. Here it went again. "Yes, Hermione. Neville and I are still not seeing one another, and each of us plans to keep it that way. I thought I saw a few Whibbler-Jibbies in your purse, but honestly, we just don't get on. Will you drop it?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh! No, Luna, that's not what I meant at all. I was hoping you'd say that!" There was a very dangerous twinkle in Hermione's eyes that reminded Luna of Dumbledore. And the two or three Whibbler-Jibbies she had glimpsed earlier seemed to have found friends near the salt shakers on the table and under the silverware.

"Really?" _Dear Merlin, this had better not be a…_

"Well, you see, Ron has this cousin." _Yes,_ Luna thought, _it is…Matchmaking Hermione strikes again._ Nice bloke, job down near the coast. Anyway, Ron mentioned to me that Abner—that's his name. Bit odd, but then, I've always though Wizarding names tended towards the dramatic. But Abner's coming to visit soon, and I was thinking…"

"No." Luna turned from Hermione's startled expression to smile at the arriving waiter who brought over a tray of soups and sandwiches halves and salads for the two witches. "Thank you. That'll be all."

As the waiter walked away, Hermione continued, "Is it because he's ginger?"

Luna paused with her sandwhich hallway into her open mouth. Startled, she lowered the sandwhich and closed her mouth. She blinked at Hermione for a moment and glanced down at the Whibbler-Jibbies. There were goads of them now—and they seemed to have commandeered the salad with the bits of blue cheese and almonds in it as their playground. Fair enough, she supposed. There were four kinds of salad, and that one did look like the most fun. "Why would him being ginger have anything to do with my not wanting to see him?"

"Well, all the Weasleys are. And it is a lot of ginger to take in… But, some of the girls back at school, well, they were mean about it—not that you'd be mean, but they didn't like the ginger, and I thought, maybe you didn't and…"

Hermione trailed off and pulled the salad with baby tomatoes closer to her. "I just don't get why you're always shutting down offers to meet up with blokes anymore. It's not like you're going to find one next to a rare will-o-the-wisp under a mulberry bush or something."

"Of course not," Luna answered, finishing a bite of her sandwich. "Will-o-the-wisps hate mulberry bushes."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Luna, I'm just trying to help. You've seemed lonely a bit, especially since your dad passed on and I just… I don't want you to be lonely."

"Thank you, Hermione. But not only is it my decision to be lonely or not, but I'd like to come across an interesting man my own way, if you don't mind."

"I wouldn't mind if you were out meeting people, but you're not even looking."

"Of course not."

"Grrr. Why not, Luna? How will you find something you're not looking for?"

"Because I don't want to find what I'm looking for. I want to find what I need. And I have faith that that'll happen on it's own."

Hermione harrumphed but nodded at her blonde dinner-companion. "Whatever you say. Just, if you do end up sixty-seven with four toads, a crippled hamster, and three invisible pets and no man, let me throw your pity party."

Luna grinned up at Hermione over the table absolutely dancing with Whibbler-Jibbies. "Deal."

* * *

In the seven years since the incidence with the Nibbler-Badges, Luna had seen increasingly more and more of the Whibbler-Jibbies. She grinned each time she saw them, upsetting a few members of the family during a nearby funeral parade, but she hadn't meant to make light of their sorrow. Anyway, she had begun taking on fewer "ghost-hunting" cases, and had been hired to investigate more and more rare creature sightings—her dream occupation.

Luna grinned at the new assistant she had gained along with the new assignments. Thomas Gaines was a bright, young thing, only a few years behind her, and old enough to remember the Battle of Hogwarts. He had been in Hufflepuff, so there was little she knew about him he hadn't told her himself. "Little known fact: Whibbler-Jibbies, the tiny creatures absolutely crawling all over this place," she gestured to the fields surrounding the cottage B&B they were nestled in for the next six weeks. "The like to align destines. Fate, soul mates, and the like. Usually people see them coming for months, and then they find their way to a place roaringly infested, like this one, and come face to face with everything they've ever needed."

"Sounds like fun, Miss Lovegood, mum. Now, where do you want me to…?" he gestured to their bags.

Luna started and laughed. "Oh, you can check us in. I'll just be wandering and taking notes. See you for supper."

Thomas nodded cheerily and levitated the bags on into the tiny cottage.

Luna walked through the field, enjoying the slightly ungraceful dance of the Whibbler-Jibbies around her, as they seemed to lead to a tree in the middle of the field.

Laughing and spinning with them, Luna twirled along and fell onto her bum under the tree. Tucking her legs up under her, she opened her notebook and pulled out a pen, beginning to sketch the cheeky little creatures flitting all about her. She stayed out with her new friends, long after dusk and past the time that fireflies danced with the Whibbler-Jibbies as the stars came out.

* * *

They had been in Orvin's field for three weeks now and had thousands of sketches—some charmed to move—and detailed descriptions of habits, rituals, and general habits of the Whibbler-Jibbies. Thomas had turned out to be an invaluable assistant, seeming to love their work just as much as Luna did, taking whatever observation shift Luna didn't and sharing a few with her besides.

Thunder clouds were rolling in, washing in the summer storm season, but the Whibbler-Jibbies seemed unfazed. In fact, there seemed to almost be more of them than ever. "Something big must be coming, Thomas. I'm sure of it."

Spending the entire day in the field observing, dancing with, or listening to the Whibbler-Jibbies soon ushered a hungry duo back to the cottage for supper.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a wizard in his late forties. He had sandy blonde hair, pale green eyes, and dimples on both cheeks. He was tall and slender, and appeared boyish for his age. "Hello. I'm Rolf Scamander. I've been following the Whibbler-Jibbies to get here. And who are you?"

Luna blushed and glanced at the tiny, perky little Whibbler-Jibbie sitting on Rolf's shoulder. It was the same Whibbler-Jibbie from the Nibbler-Badge house. "Oh," she whispered. She smiled at the Whibbler-Jibbie, who winked roguishly at her and tilted it's tiny head at Rolf. "I'm Luna. It's wonderful to meet you."

* * *

E/N: Reviews?


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